School of Journalism, Brown Bag Presentation

Asst. Prof. Mark Dolan

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Time: 12—1.00pm

Venue: Room:  Communications 1032

The Weekend Workshops

Murphysboro (1st), Cobden and Alto Pass (2nd), and Carterville

A town/gown Photojournalism collaboration that benefits our students, our school, and our neighboring communities

Asst. Prof. Mark Dolan will give a glimpse into three exciting photojournalism weekend workshops that have resulted in the production of two coffee table type photo books, two gallery-quality photo exhibits and one website (southof64.com). He will discuss the plans for the third book in the series (this one covering the communities of Carterville, Cambria and Crainville), and printing a third gallery exhibit that will be given to the community.

All MCMA faculty and graduate students are welcome to attend

Please RSVP Sherida Evans at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Two photojournalism faculty members in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s School of Journalism will serve in positions with the nation’s leading organization for visual journalists.

Mark. J. Dolan, an assistant professor, recently earned a three-year term on the board of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).  In addition, Phillip W. Greer, a photojournalist-in-residence at SIU Carbondale, received another two-year term as Region V chair for the not-for-profit organization.

Established in 1946, the NPPA represents the interests of professional photojournalists, videographers, visual editors and multimedia producers and plays an active role in protecting their rights.  Along with advancing the goals of working photojournalists the organization also holds numerous workshops and seminars throughout the year.  The NPPA also provides mentoring opportunities for student journalists and has several student chapters, including one at SIU Carbondale.

“We're very proud of Mark Dolan and Phil Greer and their involvement with NPPA, the nation’s leading organization for professional photojournalists,” said Gary P. Kolb, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts.  “The fact that our two photojournalism faculty are officers in this notable organization brings added credibility and attention to our photojournalism program here at SIU Carbondale.  They both contribute immeasurably to what we believe is the best photojournalism program in the state of Illinois.”

This is the first time for Dolan on the NPPA board. In 2009, Dolan received the organization’s John Durniak Mentor Award “for his work to continually raise the bar for photojournalism education … and for being a champion for his students, setting a tough standard and building their confidence.”

Prior to coming to SIU Carbondale in fall 2008, Dolan was a senior associate professor within the Department of Visual and Interactive Communication in Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Journalism for eight years.  Dolan’s work also included positions as photojournalist, photo director and photo editor at various newspapers, including The Providence Journal, The Anchorage Times, The Gainesville Sun, and Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Dolan teaches photojournalism and new media classes, including how to combine audio with video and still photography for multimedia story telling for websites.  Dolan’s efforts recently included a third workshop for students with mentors from throughout the United States in chronicling Carterville, Crainville, and Cambria.  Prior workshops focused on Murphysboro, and Alto Pass and Cobden.

“I’ve been involved in many of their training events and workshops, so it’s good to give back,” Dolan said.  “I appreciate what the NPPA does for photographers and photojournalists and I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to give back to the organization and to the profession.”

Dolan hopes to provide input regarding the organization’s future direction, including how it reaches out to help the media.

“Hopefully I can bring in some ideas and suggestions that will help the NPPA further its mission,” he said.

Greer, meanwhile, represent members in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, in addition to several countries in the West Indies, including Aruba, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Cuba and Jamaica.  He first earned a two-year term in 2009.

Greer came to SIU Carbondale a decade ago at the urging of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, founder of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, and Mike Lawrence, former Institute director.  At the time Greer had spent more than two decades in a variety of photojournalism capacities at the Chicago Tribune, including senior photographer, chief photographer and director of photography.  While at the newspaper Greer assisted in the switchover from film to digital production with what was then the world’s largest electronic darkroom.  Prior to going to the Tribune in 1979, Greer, who began his photojournalism career in 1966 at the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, was a photographer for 12 years with The Morning Courier in Urbana.

In the early 1980s, Greer earned the George Day Service Award from the Illinois Press Photographers Association.  Photojournalists “are extremely tight knit and band together” in a desire to help one another, he said.  The internships and mentoring programs that NPPA provides help to keep the profession strong.

Work from many of Greer’s photojournalism students is part of the “The Cairo Project,” a multi-media effort that documented life in Cairo.

My name is Bruno Maestrini, I'm from Brazil.  I am a student in the M.S. program and my emphasis is in photojournalism and video journalism.

What I really like to research is cultural and historical aspects.  My thesis topic is the traditional way that the South American Gaucho cooks barbecue, through an anthropological, historical and cultural lens.

My favorite class at SIU was actually a workshop.  It was the Weekend at Murphysboro workshop (South of 64) organized by Mark Dolan.

All the photojournalism and video students, grad and undergrad went there, and spent a whole weekend, from Friday night until Monday morning--all night, all day with  professionals from all around the country.  A whole bunch of people from CNN, the Pulitzer Foundation, National Geographic were all there to coach us.

I was a part also of the Shawnee Forest project book.  Here at SIU, they published a book about the Shawnee Forest and I volunteered as a photographer and I have in a publication, a hardcover book, that sounds really cool.

I was a TA (Teachers Assistant) for a year and a half and I had the classroom almost for myself.  That was a great learning experience because I learned how to teach.  I had 80 students, teaching Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign and it's a great experience for learning how to deal with students if you want to go out and be a professor or just learning how to deal with people.

Here, you have a chance to meet people from all around the world: from Spain, from China, from Bangladesh, from Brazil, from America--different parts of America.  All these people have different ways of seeing their own work and different ideas of the world.  So you end up learning how to work in so many different ways.

I have two options basically after I graduate.  One is to apply for an OPT, that means get a job here in the U.S. in the three months after I graduate, or go back home.  Either way, I think that I have been well prepared for the market, to work in the industry.  You come out with a great portfolio, you have that opportunity, you just have to know how to use it.

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale students Mallory Henkelman, Evan Davis and their classmates couldn’t help but smile.

They were getting the first glimpse of a book that offers readers a taste and sense of living in Murphysboro. The 80-page, all-color, 12-by-9 soft-cover landscape book “Weekend in Murphysboro,” is the final component of a project documenting the people and events in Murphysboro over more than 48 hours, Oct. 2-4, 2009.

“I think it looks fantastic,” said Henkelman, a senior from Danville majoring in journalism with a specialization in advertising.

Davis, who is from Chicago, will graduate Saturday, Dec. 18, with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a specialization in photojournalism.

“It looks awesome. I’m glad it really turned out the way it did,” he said.

Henkelman and Davis, along with students Al Anderson, Kraig A Koch, Jacob R. Mayer and Justin Peterman were involved in book layout and design as part of Assistant Professor Aaron S. Veenstra’s advanced graphic communication class this fall.

“We put in a lot of hours, a lot of time and energy into this and it’s nice to see it look as good as it does,” said Koch, a graduate student from Mount Vernon who is working on a degree in professional media and media management studies.

Mark J. Dolan, an assistant professor who was photo editor and project director, received 1,500 copies of the book this week.

The book will cost $20 and the School of Journalism will only sell enough to cover the cost of printing, with the remaining copies being distributed between the town and the school. The book will be available at the SIU School of Journalism at 618/536-3361, and the City of Murphysboro Administration office, 1101 Walnut St. Proceeds from books sold in Murphysboro will go to the University to help defray printing costs, Murphysboro Mayor Ron Williams said.

After seeing the book for the first time, Williams praised the efforts of the students involved throughout the entire project. The book “is absolutely beautiful. It is a professional publication that a small city our size could never hope to attain.”

The book “not only highlights the talents of our students, but also the richness of our region,” said Gary P. Kolb, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts.

“This book forms a valuable record of one community that will endure,” he said. “Imagine someone picking it up off a shelf in their grandmother’s home in 2075 and looking through these pages at the history of their town.”

Kolb said it is great to finally see the book come to fruition.

“We thought about a book from the very beginning of the project but did not know if it would be financially feasible. Thanks to the chancellor and the people of Murphysboro, we were able to pull it off. This is a terrific example of what the University and the community can do together. I’m very proud of all of our students who participated and of Mark Dolan for all he did to make this project a reality.”

The project was a learning experience for everyone, said Veenstra, the design manager. That included sorting through numerous images to determine those that fit with specific themes and focus.

“”That was a real challenge for this project in dealing with winnowing down the existing starting set of images into something we could fit into an 80-page book,” he said. “But it was something that I think really refined the quality quite a bit. We wound up getting a lot of really good material … where we were thinking about how to put pages together in a way that wasn’t just a random collection of images.”

There are approximately 200 images in the book showcasing a variety of activities. The photographs and stories range from an early morning pledge of allegiance at St. Andrew’s Catholic School and morning assembly at Murphysboro Middle School, to the work of elementary art teacher Beth Smout. Among the other features are the Murphysboro High School Crimson Express Marching Band, a Red Devil football game, activities at the Murphysboro Senior Citizen Center, old-time baseball with the Murphysboro Clarkes, and a wedding at Lake Murphysboro.

The book credits 34 photographers, including Davis and Anderson. Anderson, who is from Columbia, S.C., is a graduate student working on a degree in professional media and media management studies.

Mayer, who is from Sparta, is a senior majoring in journalism. Peterman, a senior from Carbondale, will graduate on Saturday with a degree in information systems technology and a minor in journalism.

Dolan said the multi-media work of students in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts shows the lives of Murphysboro residents at that particular point in time. In addition to the digital still photography, sound and video, students also designed a website --http://southof64.com/ -- to chronicle facets of daily life and events in the community.

Williams said he sees the book and earlier website as a regional development tool for Murphysboro, in addition to the great educational experience for students.

“This fulfills the mission of the University in terms of providing service to the region,” he said. “It is astounding what they have been able to accomplish.”

“It’s great for the community and it’s great for our students to have something like this; it’s a little more real,” Dolan said of the book. “The website is great … but there is something special about having a book to hold in your hand. It looks good.”

Dolan emphasized the collaborative effort involved in the project, noting that different groups of students contributed.

“Whomever the best designer is amongst us wouldn’t have gotten this with just one person designing it,” Dolan said. “There was a lot of creativity involved that these students were able to bring to the table.”

Students this spring will work on a book project that features the villages of Cobden and Alto Pass, Veenstra said. Much like with the Murphysboro project, students used digital still photography, sound and video for a multi-media workshop focusing on Cobden and Alto Pass in early October.

For more information on the project contact Dolan by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Students in Southern Illinois University Carbondale's School of Journalism will again hit the streets this weekend to highlight two local communities.

From sunrise, Friday, Oct. 1, until sunset, Sunday, Oct. 3, approximately 30 students will chronicle the Union County villages of Cobden and Alto Pass with the multi-media workshop, "A Weekend in Cobden/Alto Pass."

Mark J. Dolan, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism, said last year's successful "A Weekend in Murphysboro" helped provide the impetus for this year's workshop.

Cobden and Alto Pass are smaller communities than Murphysboro, but Dolan also sees many similarities, particularly when looking to tell a story.

"There are great stories everywhere. You don't have to be in a big city to find good stories. I think what the students will gain is the intensive interaction with professionals who are there … to help improve their skills. It's invaluable."

Media Advisory

For more information on the "A Weekend in Cobden/Alto Pass" project, contact assistant professor Mark J. Dolan at 618/536-3361 or 315/882-2446, or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The story settings are still developing but Dolan anticipates the communities' strong agricultural history, including orchards and vineyards, to be a focus in the project. Residents of the communities seem to be very excited about the students' efforts and "we are very excited about the potential for it."

Cobden Mayor Molly Beckley and the Cobden Business and Community Association have been really receptive to the project, Dolan said.

Beckley said the project is "absolutely exciting."

"We have a lovely town, a beautiful town. All we ever want to do is promote our village," she said. "I love the idea that students will be involved."

Students will use digital still photography, sound and video to document the communities. Students will bring their work for editing to a community center in Cobden -- a former feed store west of the railroad tracks. Some of editing work will also take place on campus, Dolan said.

Students will shoot their assignments, have the work edited, and receive immediate feedback for improving their work from SIUC faculty and the volunteer professionals, Dolan said.

"The 'Weekend in Murphysboro' project last fall was a terrific success in all respects -- for the students and for the community," said Gary P. Kolb, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts. "The resulting images and stories have been widely exhibited in the community and showcased on the 'Southof64.com' website. It is a great way for the University to reach out to the region and produce something of lasting value for the communities involved."

The Murphysboro project, which includes the website and traveling photo exhibit, has been very successful, Dolan said. A journalism class is designing and will publish an 80-page coffee table-style photo book of photos from that weekend, he said.

Kolb, Dolan, and William H. Frievogel, director of the SIUC School of Journalism, all said they hope the upcoming workshop also results in a website and book.

The weekend workshops "provide our photojournalism students a unique opportunity to work with some of the country's best photojournalists," Frievogel said. "They also are a chance for the School of Journalism and the College to give back to a Southern Illinois community."

Dolan became interested in profiling Cobden while working with students this summer on a documentary project on the migrant community.

Dolan hopes the community photo workshops become an annual event, with students then working on the website and book each spring. The workshops are not possible without the contributions of visiting professionals.

"That kind of intensity, coaching and editing that students receive is what makes it possible," he said.

Budget concerns and reduced funding resources almost prompted organizers to postpone this year's workshop. But several students who participated in the Murphysboro project expressed support for another project this year, Dolan said.

"We decided to try and do it on our own," Dolan said. Some of the volunteers are coming at their own expense, and several are coming for a second year, he said.

"The photojournalism community is so good about giving back to the community and, in particular, things like this project that help the students, Dolan said. "We've got this incredible lineup of professionals who will be here as editor and coaches coming in to work with our students."

Graduate student Julia M. Rendleman is one of several students who participated last year and persuaded Dolan to continue with the project this year. What students receive from the intense three-day workshop is beneficial, said Rendleman, who will graduate in December with a master's degree in the Professional Media and Media Management Studies program specializing in photojournalism.

"It's compact learning," she said. "It's a way to learn what you would over the course of a semester in a weekend."

Rendleman said one benefit is visiting faculty discussing with students their initial photographs, offering ideas and suggestions how to improve them, and then allowing students to back and improve their shots right then.

"It was a great experience," she said.

The visiting faculty newspaper photographers are: Chris Berry, The State, Columbia, S.C.; Elizabeth Conley, Detroit News; Jay Drowns, The Sporting News; David Grunfeld, Times-Picayune, New Orleans; Danese Kenon, Indianapolis Star; Erin McCracken, Evansville Courier; Chuck Novara, The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale; and Todd Panagopoulos, Chicago Tribune. Other visiting faculty include Scott Allen, regional director for public affairs, U.S. Department of State, Chicago, and Sean Gallagher, freelance photographer, sponsored by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.

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Originally posted at: http://news.siuc.edu/news/September10/092910par10144.html.

A few SIUC students needed no words to make a statement.

They just needed a moment.

The Illinois Press Photographers Association announced the best of Illinois Photography this weekend during a two-day event that consisted of judging both professional and student photographs Friday and presentations by professional photographers Saturday. Student judging was broken into eight categories with 32 awards given.

SIUC students won 15 of them, sweeping both the portrait personality and multimedia divisions.

"When a school takes (almost) half of the total number of awards in a major photojournalism competition — you've made a statement," said J. Bruce Baumann, an assistant instructor in photojournalism. "The SIU photojournalism program continues to lead the way in the college, producing some of the best young photojournalists in the country."

Any student from Illinois could submit work to the competition, even if he or she attended a school out of state, which allowed SIUC students to compete with photojournalists from Ohio University and Western Kentucky University, Baumann said.

Diana Soliwon, a graduate student in new media from Springfield, and Julia Rendleman, a graduate student in photojournalism from Makanda, were the only two students to win a category. Soliwon took first in portrait personality, while Rendleman scored first and second in multimedia.

Mark Dolan, an assistant professor of journalism, said the awards should serve as more than just a line on students' resume.

"Often it's the older students — the more advanced students — who are winning, and hopefully that'll serve as motivation for themselves and the people coming up under them," Dolan said.

He said a handful of students went to the event and that what they saw should encourage them to improve as they move forward.

"It was a very good showing," Dolan said. "They should be proud of it, but it should be a motivator to just keep on improving in their skills, their storytelling ability and their portfolios."

Lindsey Smith can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 536-3311 ext. 253.